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No Joy to the World This Christmas
by Stephen Lendman
How can there be with wars raging out-of control! Who's celebrating while mass slaughter and destruction persist?
No Christmas cheer this year for billions. No Feliz Navidad. No happy holiday. No Wise Men spreading good will.
No silent, holy night. No decking the halls. No herald angels singing. None heard on high.
No coming all ye faithful. No telling it on the mountain. No merry gentlemen resting. No peace on earth coming upon a midnight clear.
New York Times editors headlined "This Day of Good Cheer.
No most wonderful time of the year. No having yourself a merry little Christmas. No holly jolly one. No wishing you one in times of war, injustice and human suffering. Imagine them on an unprecedented scale.
Hail to the Thief
by Stephen Lendman
On December 19, Vladimir Putin pardoned Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He did it a day after announcing he'd do so.
Western media scoundrels reacted as expected. They praised his release. They denounced Putin earlier for imprisoning him. More on this below.
Until his October 2003 arrest, Kordorkovsky was Russia's richest man. He headed the oil giant Yukos. Forbes ranked him 16th on their global billionaires list.
He made money the old-fashioned way. He profited hugely from Soviet Russia's dissolution. He bought Siberian oil fields and other state assets advantageously. He did so at a small fraction of their real value.
Mission Accomplished, Says Snowden
by Stephen Lendman
On December 23, he told the Washington Post:
"For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission’s already accomplished. I already won."
"As soon as the journalists were able to work, everything that I had been trying to do was validated. Because, remember, I didn’t want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself."
"All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed. That is a milestone we left a long time ago. Right now, all we are looking at are stretch goals."
Syrian Refugee Crisis results in UN's Largest Emergency Appeal
by Brian McAfee
According to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees the number of Syrian refugees is now over 2.3 million. The UNHCR also says that within Syria there are 4.2 displaced people as a result of the civil war that has been going on between Syria's president Bashar al-Assad and primarily an Al Quada lead rebel force, with both sides allowing and engaging in attacks on civilian targets. The Kurds, who are about 9% of the Syrian population and traditionally have had a role in the Syrian government now are targeted from both al-Assad and the al-Quada like rebels.
Israel Attacks Gaza
by Stephen Lendman
It wasn't the first time. It won't be the last. It's done it numerous times before. It strikes aggressively. It does it lawlessly. It's longstanding Israeli policy.
Cast Lead and Pillar of Cloud attacks were major acts of aggression. Many other strikes were modest by comparison.
Israel lies claiming only militants are targeted in response to attacks on its territory.
Samer Issawi's Liberating Struggle
by Stephen Lendman
Thousands of political prisoners languish in Israel's gulag. It's one of the world's harshest. Detainees face torture, intimidation, humiliation, and other abuses.
Administrative ones are held indefinitely without charges or trials. Children are treated like adults.
Horrific conditions include severe overcrowding. Poor ventilation and sanitation makes things worse. Inadequate clothing is policy.
Conflict in South Sudan
by Stephen Lendman
Until July 2011, Sudan was Africa's largest country. Balkanization changed things. It's now the third largest.
South Sudan broke away. It did so by national referendum. Ordinary people were lied to. They were told independence would elevate living standards.
100 Years Is Enough: Time to Make the Fed a Public Utility
by Ellen Brown
December 23rd, 2013, marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve, warranting a review of its performance. Has it achieved the purposes for which it was designed?
The answer depends on whose purposes we are talking about. For the banks, the Fed has served quite well. For the laboring masses whose populist movement prompted it, not much has changed in a century.
Thwarting Populist Demands
The Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913 in response to a wave of bank crises, which had hit on average every six years over a period of 80 years. The resulting economic depressions triggered a populist movement for monetary reform in the 1890s. Mary Ellen Lease, an early populist leader, said in a fiery speech that could have been written today:
100 Years of Financial Terrorism
by Stephen Lendman
December 23, 1913 will live in infamy. Three days before Christmas, House members passed the Federal Reserve Act (FSA).
On December 23, Senate members did so. President Woodrow Wilson was a tool of big money. He was JP Morgan's man in Washington. He signed FSA into law straightaway. He acted disgracefully.
So did Congress. It passed FSA in the middle of the night. Most congressional members hadn't read it.
They wouldn't have understood it anyway. It was cleverly worded to deceive them. Only its creators knew its purpose. Ellen Brown explained what happened as follows:
"In plain English, the Federal Reserve Act authorized a private central bank to create money out of nothing, lend it to the government at interest, and control the nation's money supply, expanding or contracting it at will."
Weeks before FSA was enacted, the 1913 Revenue Act became law. It imposed a federal income tax. It did so to pay bankers interest on America's money. It let taxpayers do it.
Rogue State Israel
by Stephen Lendman
Israel is no democracy. It never was. For sure it's not now. Its current government is its worst ever. It's dominated by right-wing ideologues.
Belligerence, state-sponsored terrorism, militarized occupation, racist persecution, settlement expansions, and neoliberal harshness reflect official policy.
Netanyanu's a world class thug. His coalition partners are militantly hardline. They're ideologically over the top.
They abhor peace, stability, equity and justice. Their policies reflect racist hate. They prioritize occupation harshness. They threaten regional security.
They consider Palestinians "foreigners." They call them "infiltrators." So-called peace talks assure none at all. They're a sham.
Netanyahu demands unconditional surrender. He wants Palestinians denied all rights. He has full US support.
Israeli author Eyal Megged calls Netanyahu's government "fascist." He does so for good reason.
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